Protective Sports Eyewear are eyeglass
frames or goggle specifically designed and
manufacture red to meet or exceed the
appropriate US impact protection standards. All
protective sports eyewear must also have
polycarbonate lenses designed to withstand
impact.

Two important US standards are:

AST M F803The American society for testing and
Materials published protective eyewear standards
for various sports.F803 is the most strict
standard for protective eyewear.

ANSI
787.1The American National Standards Institute
published standards for protective eyewear for
occupational safety.

The impact of a
ball or other equipment as well as an
opponent's hands and elbows pose a threat to
an athlete's visual safety. According to a
2001 report by Prevent Blindness of America,
there are over 38,000 sports-related eye
injuries requiring costly emergency room
care.

This number could potentially
skyrocket when you consider the treatment of
eye injuries in a private practitioner's
office. As sports participation statistics
continue to climb, and newly identified
"extreme" sports gain in popularity, the
number of athletes who fall victim to eye
injuries has the potential to grow at
alarming rates.

School-aged competitors are
particularly prone to eye injuries since
their athletic skills (hand-eye
coordination, balance, reaction time and
speed) are still being developed. However,
regardless of an individual's age or skill
level, every athlete's eyes are targets for
injury. Under most circumstances, at least
90% of sports-related eye injuries are
preventable with the proper use of
protective sports eyewear.